Located just 300m from the Chennai seafront, the Learning Centre at Quest demonstrates how responsive facades can elevate not just architecture, but the experience of learning itself. Designed as a free-flowing volume for children aged 8 to 16, the project embraces an open, fluid spatial narrative with its carefully articulated facade. While the southern and northern sides of the building are lined with full-length operable windows shaded by vertical aluminium aerofoil louvers, enabling optimal airflow and daylight, the eastern and western faces are more enclosed in character.
These walls have been designed as 400mm thick insulated composite cavity walls. With a 300mm masonry core filled with 50mm XPS insulation and a 25mm air gap, the walls are shielded with bamboo shuttered GFRC panels. This textured outer skin not only lends a natural, earthy character to the structure but also acts as a self-shading envelope, thus drastically reducing heat gain. Together, the material strategy ensures that the facade performs as a thermal buffer, minimising dependence on artificial cooling and creating a glare-free, naturally lit environment.
Sriram Ganapathi And Siddarth Money Ksm Architecture, Chennai
KSM Architecture is a Chennai-based practice with over 35 years of experience and 100+ completed projects across typologies. Rooted in simplicity, the firm prioritises functional requirements alongside climate-responsive design, integrating natural light, ventilation and vegetation. Whether designing a residence, school, factory or commercial space, their approach remains consistent with research-driven and process-focused.
PROJECT DETAILS
Project name: Learning Centre at Quest
Typology: Institutional
Location: Besant Nagar, Chennai
Site area: 540 sqm
Built area: 760 sqm
Completion year: 2022
Studio: KSM Architecture, Chennai
Photo credits: Sreenag BR
Design team: Sriram Ganapathi, Siddarth Money, Akshaya J, Sathish V, Seran S, Mohanraj K and Ragini P